Chengdu has finally cemented its reputation as a megalomaniac city with the release of a bizarre 15-minute promotional video for the New Century Global Center (新世纪环球中心), which it describes as "Chengdu's gift to the world."
The video touts Chengdu's desire to become "a world-class modern city of idyllic beauty" and repeatedly likens the center to heaven and paradise, calling Chengdu a "god-favored land" and stating (twice, in case you missed it the first time) that the center will command the respect of the world.
Let's take a look. Click here to watch the video on youtube
The building, with 1,760,000 sqm indoor space slated to be the world's largest standalone structure is run by the Exhibition and Travel Group, owners of the adjacent Century City Exhibition Center and Intercontinental and Holiday Inn hotels.
Construction on the building has progressed steadily, and the center is expected to open in April 2013, coinciding with Chengdu hosting the Fortune Global Forum in June of that year.
The longest side of the structure is 500 meters and will house the expected (shopping centers, hotels, offices, cinemas) and the unexpected (an ocean park with a massive indoor "beach" complete with sand, a "coastline" backed by the world's largest LED, and the world's largest artificial waves).
Here are some of the numbers the video boasts of:
Grand playhouse capacity: 2,000
Theater capacity: 1,000
Concert hall capacity: 1,000
International conference center: 10,000 square meters
Showroom: 12,000 square meters
Contemporary art gallery: 30,000 square meters
Artificial beach: 5,000 square meters (400-meter "coastline"
World's largest LED: 150m x 40m
River rafting: 500 meters
Lobby: 10,000 square meters and 65 meters tall
Number of on-site five-star hotels: 2
Total number of deluxe suites: 1,000
Central business tower: 720,000 square meters
Number of ("international famous brand") elevators: 244
Number of parking spaces: 15,000
Facing the new contemporary arts center designed by prominent architect Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid the center is expected to create a second city center in the south, linked to the rest of Sichuan's capital by 20 bus lines and an underground pedestrian passageway and its own station for Metro Line 1, and to a number of interprovince expressways.
This article was posted by Jane and published October 10, 2012
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